Venerable Santacitta Bhikkhuni began her meditation practice in 1988 in the forests of southern Thailand. Her first teacher was Ajahn Buddhadasa, whose approach awakened her interest in Buddhist monastic life. He was known for blending an ancient tradition with an openness to contemporary concerns, and his writings on activism helped connect the Buddha’s teachings with engaged Buddhist practice today.
In 1992, Ayya Santacitta joined Amaravati Buddhist Monastery near London, within the lineage of Ajahn Chah, a respected teacher in the Thai Forest Tradition. For 17 years, Ajahn Sumedho, the founding abbot of Amaravati, together with the nuns of the Siladhara Order, served as her teachers. At Amaravati, the focus is on community practice and on adapting Buddhist monastic training for Western practitioners.
Another significant influence was Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche, a Dzogchen teacher in the lineage of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, whom Ayya Santacitta first met in 2002. The richness of the Tibetan tradition brought a fresh energetic quality to her practice, building on the Theravada foundation she had already developed.
In 2008, a new chapter began when Aloka Vihara was established in San Francisco at the invitation of the Saranaloka Foundation. After meeting Western bhikkhunis, or fully ordained Buddhist nuns, for the first time in California, Ayya Santacitta chose to leave the Ajahn Chah lineage and take full ordination in 2011.
Over the years, the books and teachings on Early Buddhism by Analayo Bhikkhu have offered important clarification for her practice, supporting a return to the simplicity of the Buddha’s original instructions.
In 2014, Aloka Vihara relocated for about eight years to the forest of the Sierra Foothills near Sacramento, California. Since early 2023, Ayya Santacitta has been residing at the Aloka Earth Room in San Rafael, a contemporary temple-space that weaves together Dharma, ecology, and art.
To hear talks by this teacher, visit: http://dharmaseed.org/teacher/278/